


tell me what you want, i'll make it happen

by aiyaaa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Gaming, Multi, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-25 21:37:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9846332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aiyaaa/pseuds/aiyaaa
Summary: Pidge gets addicted to Voltron Online, a MMORPG, over the summer, and drags Lance and Hunk into hell with her. They meet Keith online.In other words, a gaming / college au.





	1. chapter 1

“Lance LaNCE LANCE DODGE!” Pidge’s voice crescendos to a shriek and crackles painfully through the headset. He can practically hear her hyperventilating - oh wait, he realizes, she is hyperventilating.  


Lance drags himself from that train of thought and flicks his eyes to the monster in front of him just as it’s club looms over his sprite. Before he realizes it, the words “You Died” flash apathetically on his computer monitor. Pidge mutters something about how he should pay attention more. He groans and half melts, half rolls off his chair, tossing his headset gently to the side.  


“Hunk,” he rasps dramatically, raising his arm, then dropping it with a smack on the floor, “Avenge me, my man.”  


“What? Can’t hear you,” Hunk replies distractedly as he nudges his headphones away from his ears with his shoulders, “These noise cancelling headsets really--” He yelps. “Sorry Pidge!”  


Hunk’s hands fly on the keyboard, eyes glued to the screen. Lance sighs and rolls over, his eyes naturally drawn to the electric green digital clock on his desk. 2 am. He zones out and let his vision slow to a blur until Hunk lets out a yawn, standing up and stretching.  


“Too bad Keith wasn’t online tonight.” Hunk offers his hand towards Lance’s prone figure.  


“Uhm! You don’t need that guy around when I’m online!” Lance huffs and leaps to his feet indignantly.  


“Lance...no offense but you died.”  


“Ok well…” Lance murmurs, too tired to defend himself properly.  


The quiet sound of the nighttime wind seems to be the only thing in the world as the boys trail off into a comfortable silence.  


“Sleep?”  


“Sleep.”  


\---  


“Guys.” Pidge attempts a stern voice, but her eyes are lit up and her excitement betrays her. “There’s a new event! Lance! You need this new armor it’ll-”  


Matt leans into her room and snorts, amused. “My dear sister, didn’t you say you were only starting this game because,” he makes air quotations teasingly, “you have nothing better to do over the summer?”  


She lunges at his ankles but he easily dodges her and flees down the hall.  


“Anyways. As I was saying.” She fixes Hunk and Lance in her stare. “We’ve got to do this! Keith said he could play tonight and if you two are on then we’re set!”  


Lance leans back, feigning relaxation. “I don’t know, Pidge, I’m a pretty busy guy...I might have to say no.”  


Pidge smirks knowingly. “Fine by me. Keith told me we’d be fine without you anyways-”  


Lance’s voice tilts upwards. “But since you’re begging I guess I have to say yes!”  


Hunk nods sagely. “Can’t win against Pidge, Lance.”  


Pidge grins.  


\---  


After dinner, they’re waiting in Pidge’s room for Keith to come online. Their laptops are set up around the low table in the center of Pidge’s room - during the school year, it had been dubbed the Study Table but now it was the Game Table. Pidge’s room is neatly messy, a sort of organized chaos. Neatly bundled wires connect to the multiple screens on her desk, the floor is covered in stacks of books and magazines sorted by subject. The pet goldfish she got for free at a fair because she was mistaken for a kid swims lazily in it’s bowl.  


Pidge is flicking through her phone and Hunk is leafing through a rather technical looking magazine that he found on the floor. Lance clicks absently on this laptop and looks interestedly at his weapon of choice - a gun. “What’s a gun doing in a fantasy rpg, anyways?” He muses, “Not that I’m complaining, just, isn’t it kind of weird?”  


Pidge and Hunk regard him with a careful eye.  


Lance gasps softly, eyes brightening. “I know! It’s a magic gun!”  


Pidge rolls her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re going to college in a few months, dumbass.”  


The trio is silent as they comprehend her words. The air grows indescribably heavier.  


“I...I can’t believe we’re going to college in a few months…” Hunk replies tentatively, almost sadly. “I’m gonna miss this.”  


Lance pats Hunk’s shoulder. “Hunk, cheer up! We’ll be going to college together - nothing is going to change. And even if things do change, you guys’ll always be my best friends.” Pidge nods in agreement.  


“Aww…!” Hunk’s face splits into a huge grin as he pulls Pidge and Lance into a hug. Lance relaxes into his embrace and lets some of his worries dispel. College scares him - it’s new and its change and he’ll miss his family - but it's also an adventure and he’s not one to back down from any adventures. Plus, he’ll have his best friends along with him for the ride. What more could he ask for? He is pulled out of his thoughts by Keith’s voice, tinny and barely audible, coming from his discarded headphones.  


“Guys…? I’m here - sorry I’m a bit late.”  


Lance and Pidge untangle themselves from their comfortable pile on top of Hunk.  


“We’re all here!” Pidge is practically buzzing with excitement as she tugs her headset on, prior concerns forgotten. “Are you ready to kick some monster butt?”  
Keith’s character with his username, “_keith_” floating above his head, pops onscreen.  


“Ya know, I think I’ve mentioned this before but,” Lance snorts, “Who makes their username their actual name? Underscore Keith underscore. Where is your creativity?!”  


“Shut up,” Keith responds huffily. “I can’t change it now, anyways. I don’t have an extra five dollars to spare. Also, what about your creativity? TheTailor_xx? Really?”  


“They called me the Tailor because of how I thread the needle-” Lance gears himself up for some friendly verbal bashing, but Pidge interrupts them.  
“Can we just get started.”  


“Ok.”  


“Yeah.” 

A few boring villager introductions later, they’re halfway through the desert-like dungeon, riding on the game-issued cats that were used to travel quickly.  


“I think I’ll name her Blue.” Lance says, dashing ahead of the group.  


“Name who Blue?” Hunk questions.  


“My cat-ridey-monster thing!”  


“Just call them cats, Lance.” Pidge interjects.  


Keith snorts. “You’re naming your virtual kitty?”  


“Hey, Nintendogs was very popular when I was a kid.” Lance shoots back.  


“Oh! I had a golden retriever!” Hunk agrees enthusiastically.  


“I think I had a beagle. She ran away though - I think she died?” Pidge remarks.  


“I never played Nintendogs.” Keith says, pauses, then continues. “I did play club penguin though?”  


Lance slams his fist down on the table and Hunk shrieks in surprise. “That’s it! We’re all playing club penguin next time!” He stops and squints at his screen. “Hey guys - is that the end of the dungeon?”  


They reach the end and a cutscene begins - blah blah emperor of time and space, Zarkon, wishes to take over the universe so he sent his minions across the land, blah blah here’s one of them, fight it for a fabulous prize, save the village, etc. Keith draws his swords, Pidge her daggers, and Lance and Hunk their guns as a purple grey beast roars and emerges from the sand. Lance runs to the back and targets what he thinks are its weak spots and prepares to heal his teammates. Keith is in the front, slashing his sword so furiously that Lance can hear his keyboard clacking through his headset. Pidge weaves in and out while Hunk covers her, ducking in with her daggers, then dashing out of range. With a final roar, the beast dissolves into pixels and floats away as crystalline dust. The group is transported back to the village and collects their prizes - money and new equipment.  


“What should we do next?” Pidge asks.  


“All in favor of playing club penguin say ay.” Lance replies solemnly.  


Keith laughs. “Wait, you were serious?”  


“Go big or go home, Keith. If I say it, I’ll do it.”  


“What are you, twelve?”  


“For all you know, I am twelve.” Lance pitches his voice higher in an annoying rendition of a prepubescent boy.  


Pidge groans. Hunk furiously checks his email for his old username and password. Lance grins at the screen.  


“Let’s play.” 

Lance nearly dies from laughter at Keith’s character - dark hair, dark clothing, poster penguin for Hot Topic. Pidge points out that his penguin is wearing a neon aloha shirt. Hunk, for some reason, owns nearly every color Puffle. Pidge is suspiciously rich. After 4 hours of running around in club penguin and getting stuck on the goddamned slow escalators in that one store, Lance admits defeat.  


“That’s...enough penguins for one day.”  


Pidge is typing strangely quickly considering they’re playing club penguin. Lance glances at her screen. Somehow, she got richer. He doesn’t want to know how. Hunk is falling asleep at the table. Keith’s breathing is deep and steady as his character attempts to walk through a wall.  


“Let’s call it a night?”  


The group drowsily agrees and logs off. Pidge crawls to her bed immediately and Lance quietly judges her for not brushing her teeth. Hunk is out on the table the moment his laptop closes. Lance brushes his teeth, steals Pidge’s blanket, and curls up on the floor. He regards his sleeping friends with a fond smile before falling asleep.


	2. chapter 2

lance: keith!!!!!  
keith: ...what  
lance: are u free tonight??  
keith: stop using so much excessive punctuation  
lance: answer my question!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
keith: no  
lance: wow uhm rude  
keith: no i meant i have stuff to do  
lance: same i gotta pack for college  
keith: ...aren’t you not supposed to share personal details with strangers on the internet?  
lance: whoops. i mean, you aren’t really a stranger tho  
keith: i have to pack too. for college.   
lance: stranger danger!!!   
keith: shut up.   
lance: if u can’t play i guess i have to pack ://  
keith: ugh

Lance closes the skype window and stares at the open suitcase at his feet. It’s empty. He’s leaving in a week and it’s empty. He halfheartedly throws some clothes in it. There. Less empty. Pidge, Hunk, and him would be leaving in a week to a school 400 miles away, and Lance still doesn’t know what to feel. He had thought the hardest part would be getting through his senior year classes, putting together college applications, taking the SAT. No, it turns out, the hardest part is leaving. The world is spinning too quickly and Lance McClain is being left behind. 

\---

“Mama! I’m going to Hunk’s!” Lance yells from his room.

“No, you aren’t! You’re packing! You’re leaving in two days!” His mother yells back. 

“Hunk is coming over here then!” 

“You’re packing!” 

“He’s here!” 

“LANCE!” 

Lance rockets down the stairs like a man on a mission, dashes to the door and flings it open. His vision is greeted with Hunk, bless his soul, his savior, his angel, his knight in shining armor, regarding him with one eyebrow raised and a box of cookies in hand. 

“Hunk,” he whispers and heaves out a huge, dramatic exhale, “you saved me.” 

Lance’s mother is practically fuming and her grip on the spatula in her hand is alarmingly tight but her blue eyes soften when she sees Hunk. 

“Hunk! I haven’t seen you in so long! You should come over more often.” She pats his shoulders as if double checking that it really was him. He offers her the box of cookies - freshly baked - and she eagerly ushers him into the house. 

“Hunk,” she coos, “if only my son were like you. He hasn’t finished packing yet.” 

Hunk smiles reassuringly, “I’ll help him pack.” 

“I can hear, you know.” Lance glares at Hunk out of the corner of his eyes. Traitor. 

She thankfully smiles at Hunk as Lance bounds up the stairs, two steps at a time. 

\---

“Hey, Hunk, remember the time Pidge took a bath in peanut butter?” Lance is sprawled on the floor, his suitcase no more full than it was before. 

“Oh, yeah. At band camp?” 

“Yeah! The senior year thing.” 

“She smelled like Reeses for, like, a solid week after,” Hunk pauses and considers. “Wait, didn’t you do it too?” 

Lance huffs, offended. “I didn’t take a bath in it. I showered with it.”

“Yeah, same thing--hey wait! Stop trying to distract us from packing!” Hunk exclaims indignantly and begins to fold the pile of clothes in Lance’s suitcase.

“Us? You’re the only one packing.”

Hunk smothers Lance’s face with a t shirt. “I’m going to tell your mom if you don’t start packing right now.” 

Lance groans and piles some books in his suitcase. “We should sneak out.”

“Yeah, and how’re you going to do that?” 

“Climb out the window.” 

“Lance,” Hunk says warningly, “the last time you tried that you broke your leg?” 

Lance glances experimentally out of the window. It’s only two stories - and there’s a bush underneath for extra cushioning and bounce factor. “I was twelve. That was different.” He stops suddenly. “Hunk, do you hear footsteps or is it just me? Is my mom coming?” He hurriedly busies his hands with clothes folding when Lance’s door squeaks open. 

“Hey mom, I’m just, like, folding clothes?” 

“Hey,” Pidge slides a box of pizza across the floor and snorts, “I’m not your mom? I heard there’s a party going on? I brought pizza.” 

“Pidge!” Lance cries and launches himself from his seat on the floor at her shins, “did you come to help me pack?” 

“Nah, I’m just here to watch you suffer. And eat pizza.” She takes a slice from the box and reclines on his bed. “Go on, keep packing.” 

Pidge ends up helping them after a few minutes, and they finish packing before disbanding for the night. 

After they leave, Lance gazes at his now packed and zipped suitcase and bags, lined up neatly in front of his closet. Two days. 

\---

lance: keith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
keith: again with the puctuation   
lance: u spelled that wrong lol   
keith: whatever  
lance: i finished packing!!!  
keith: good job??   
lance: oh yeah. we should play again before all of us go off to college, ya know, old times sake  
keith: are we gonna stop playing in college??   
lance: idk man, we’ll probably be playing less, ya know?   
keith: i guess..  
lance: aww what, gonna miss me?   
keith: i’ll miss playing  
lance: i’ll log on, just for u, if you ask nicely  
keith: *with pidge and hunk  
lance: harsh!!! anyways, ttyl keithy boy  
keith: cya

**Author's Note:**

> hey! i haven't written anything in a while but i hope you guys enjoy! comments / kudos appreciated!


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